Keeping Yourself Accountable, A Few Easy Steps

Have you ever found yourself extremely motivated and determined to do whatever is you set your mind to doing, but then you fall short for whatever the reason? You say to yourself, “I am going to hold myself accountable for my actions,” but then you slack off and come up with excuses?

We all have had moments where we start off so great by changing our mindsets for the better, staying focused and making sure that we do stay accountable to ourselves to get what we need to get done done.

What sometimes happens though is that we “lose” our drive, motivation, inspiration and so forth, to hold ourselves accountable. It starts becoming much easier to make excuses for why we can’t do something instead of persevering through to get things done.

For me, when I was going through my bouts of dealing with life and not being as motivated as I thought I should, I had to get my thinking in line with my desires. I realized that I didn’t have the luxury of a negative thought, which could have spiraled me further towards the dark side. I fought back, I stopped my negative, non-productive thoughts and replaced them consciously with encouraging ones.

In the past, I had help keeping me motivated and holding me accountable, but it ultimately came down to me being able to keep myself motivated and accountable to my immediate goals. There’s only so much anyone can do; you have to decide to take hold of your conscious thoughts and be resilient to the temptation to slide back into a bad place.

There were a few different things I did and still do to this day, to make sure I kept myself accountable. Sure, there were days where I simply would be annoyed with myself and wanted to toss in the towel but, I would push myself because I knew I wanted and needed to succeed more than anything.

A few of the different steps I take to hold myself accountable:

First and foremost, I make an effort to always kept a clear mind by having some “alone time” and eliminated any unnecessary distractions. I do this by reserving time on my calendar, unplugging from electronic devices and focusing on journaling my thoughts and feelings.

I read daily affirmations and inspirational quotes from books of wisdom, sometimes those written before the invention of the printing press. This helps keeps me positive, motivated and focused on something bigger than my problems or issues, which seemed petty and unimportant in comparison.

Every day, I write in my journal detailing what tasks need to be completed on that day and why it’s important that I complete them. That helps me to stay focused and not put them off. Another thing I write down are the people I need to connect with that day, and I make an effort to make that gesture.

I utilize the calendar on my iPhone by inserting my daily tasks and set times for when I need to start and finish them by.

Staying accountable to each other means we both win.

These are basic steps that I take to make sure that I stick to my path and this is what helps keep me focused and accountable. So, try utilizing these steps yourself to help you get back on track and keep you accountable for what you desire to.

Obviously, if you can work with another person, if you can have an accountability partner weekly, that will go a long way towards keeping you accountable and focused on your goals.

If this resonates with you, let me know. From my own client work, I now see how important accountability is, and I want to do everything I can to encourage everyone to be true to their own goals with a little help from a friend.